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                      ODM #83 EDITORIAL
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Well, here it is!  We hope you like it.

We've been telling you about our new VGA product for the past few months, and now you've got it.  But just exactly what has changed and why?

Most obvious, perhaps, is the new "shell" or "menu" program.  That is the program you get when you enter "go" from the DOS prompt.  The new shell is a complete departure from earlier presentations.  We have tried to incorporate some of the user interface elements of the more popular graphic programs on the market these days.  We have windows, menus, buttons, dialog boxes--the works!  You'll start seeing more of these elements in our regular monthly offerings too.  The purpose of this new presentation is twofold, first, to make it easier for you to experience On Disk Monthly; second, to make it easier for us to put it together each month.

Of course we also have new requirements.  Chief among these is our VGA requirement.  In my opinion we have resisted this move for far too long.  Our fear was that there were still too many people with CGA only systems.  We now think that our desire to support such ancient formats simply made our product appear outdated.  So, after much anxiety and data analysis and finger-crossing, we have decided to split ODM into two products: one for VGA and Windows and one for CGA and text.

Finally, we have a new disk format.  The new format is a high density format, giving us 1.2 megabytes of space, instead of the 720K of the past.  This extra 500 kilobytes will be used to give you more graphically appealing programs, more sounds, and higher quality clip art.

And, this month, we start two new regular features.  A cartoon caption replacement (send in your own ideas for a caption for our monthly cartoon) and a Secret Word contest.  Each month we'll have at least one program with a secret word.  Find it and fill in the blank on the report card and we'll publish your name in our "Winner's Circle."  Also, send in a new caption idea for our cartoon and, if we like it, we'll pubish it along with all others on a future issue.

As if these changes aren't enough, we are now talking about some more radical changes.  Let us know what you think about the following  ideas:

STARTER DISK: This will be a disk that is sent (once) to all new or existing subscribers.  It will contain the ODM presentation program (the shell) and several program drivers, including our puzzle programs like Super Crossword, Crypto-Sleuth, Word-Up and any others we can fit on the disk.  Also, we would include some utility programs, like Print Shop Viewer and PCX Viewer.  Finally we would include our ODM Indexer program (a sort of Back Issue Catalog on disk).  If we do this, we will have a lot more space free on each issue, but the user would have to be able to run our disk from their hard drive.  Let us know what you think!

SHAREWARE CORNER: We are thinking of locating the best shareware in the market and bringing it directly to you on future issues of On Disk Monthly.  This will help you to avoid the mind-numbing job of combing through the tons of useless junk in the shareware market to find a rare jewel.  Our editors and programmers will be on the lookout for the best shareware each and every month, and we'll give a monthly report on the search along with the single best program we could find.

Okay, that should be enough for now, except to redefine my goals as the Product Manager of On Disk Monthly.  Here they are, more or less in order of priority:

1.  Improve product quality.
2.  Emphasize program consistency.
3.  Focus on user involvement.

See you next month...

Sean Golden, Product Manager - ODM